Local Courthouse Safety Act Introduced into Legislation

By
KBJR News 1

February 10, 2012Updated Feb 10, 2012 at 6:58 PM CDT

Duluth, MN (Northland's NewsCenter) - The 'Local Courthouse Safety Act'—authored and introduced by Senator Al Franken—came in response to the dramatic rise in local courthouse violence across the nation.

The legislation would provide local courts with access to security training, and give local courts access to excess federal security equipment—such as metal detectors and screening devices—which many local courthouses lack.

According to Franken, the legislation would help ensure that local courthouses are a safe place to work.

"This is just a way of making sure that their courthouses—which people have to go to to judicate parking tickets sometimes, it's a workplace for many people—to make sure that they're safe," said Franken.

According to Franken, the Act would also give states authority to use existing grant money to improve courthouse security, and would not require a tax increase.